Old Friends, New Enemies
by confusedsarcasm
Summary: Cuddy's estranged father is admitted into PPTH. While Cuddy copes with tragic memories, tensions brew between House and Wilson when Wilson becomes Cuddy's shoulder to lean on. [Some Wuddy moments, but ultimately Huddy]. COMPLETE! Plus Epilouge!
1. Ride Home

A/N: I never thought I'd ever write a fan fiction, but here it is. My first fic ever. I hope it's not too bad. Oh, and please excuse any mistakes, I'm new here so I don't know how this beta thing works. The title and summary might not be permanent cuz I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, but I have many ideas.

Disclaimer: I don't own House, M.D.

* * *

Cuddy sat behind her desk finishing off the last of her paperwork for the day. She looked at the time on her computer and was surprised to see that it was only 6:57 p.m. As the hospital administrator, she was used to working unusually late hours and had grown accustom to arriving home at ungodly hours of the night and only being able to squeeze in about four hours of sleep if she was lucky. But the paperwork had been minimal today as a result of the all nighter she had pulled the previous day. 

She had been at it for nearly the whole day now and had even skipped lunch by accident because she was so engrossed in what she was doing and couldn't wait for the end of the day to come so she could return home to her warm, soft bed. She put her signature on one last document and made a move to get up, but instantly regretted it when she realized her bottom was completely asleep after sitting in the same spot for so long and made a mental note to get a more comfortable chair as soon as possible. Carefully straightening herself into a standing position, she slowly started shuffling her way over to the coat rack. She put on her favorite bright red coat and made her way through the doors of her office gladly locking them.

Excited at the prospect of actually going home at a decent time, she walked with more of an air of authority than she did nearly two minutes ago in her office, her heels clicking rhythmically against the cold tiles of the hospital, sending out a familiar echo through the corridors of the hospital that effectively made everyone put on their happy face and work harder knowing that Dr. Lisa Cuddy, dean of medicine was around somewhere near.

All employees except for one Dr. Gregory House.

House was hiding out in exam room one playing his psp when the door suddenly opened.

"Hey!" yelled House, "You can't just barge in here like that! This is an exam room!"

"Oh, I'm _so _sorry" said Wilson, "I didn't mean to interrupt you and your _patient_." He said, referring to House and his gameboy.

"Yeah, well you should learn to knock. That sort of thing can land you in a situation you _really_ don't want to find your self in. Believe me." House shuddered dramatically for effect.

"I don't want to know." Wilson rolled his eyes at his best friend. "So are you ready to go?"

Wilson's car had been impounded after he got into a car accident. Well, not really an accident so much as he parked it in the way of another car that was obviously not in the mood to go and look for the owner and ask for it to be moved. Basically, the owner of the other car backed into Wilson's car several times until it was out of the way and he was free to drive out of the parking lot. That was quite a surprise for Wilson when he returned to the parking lot to find his car damaged like he'd never seen before, with dents as big as his own body all over the side of his precious car.

"Go where?" said House

"Um…you're taking me home remember? My car…" said Wilson, wondering how House could've forgotten. He'd been quite persistent about making fun of Wilson and torturing him about how funny it was that someone took their anger out on Wilson's car.

"Oh, yeah _that_." House smiled at the memory, "You shouldn't have left it parked like that. What were you thinking?"

"I was in a hurry!" said Wilson, visibly still upset about his car. "I was only gone for one minute!"

"Well obviously that wasn't quick enough." House's smile got even bigger. Wilson could've swore House was on the verge of laughter.

"Let's just get out of here ok?" Wilson sighed. The loss of his car left him in no mood to spare with House and a long day at work just added to the effect of loss he was feeling for his beloved car.

"Sorry I can't." House's voice was completely serious.

"What? What do you mean you can't?" Wilson nearly yelled the first 'what' and hoped that none of the people outside the exam room heard him.

"Wow, did you know you sound just like a little girl when you yell?" House loved messing with Wilson. Besides "General Hospital" and his personal collection of "the L word" DVD's, messing with Wilson was one of his favorite past times.

Wilson decided to let that comment about him sounding like a girl go for now. "What do you mean you can't?" He repeated the question hoping to get an answer this time.

A small part of House felt sorry for Wilson and didn't even want to think of what it would be like to not have a car. Plus he could hear the exasperation in Wilson's voice and decided that he could mess with him some other time. A bigger part of him was telling him that he wasn't going to mess with Wilson because he had other things to do. 'Yeah that's it' thought House.

"I've got work to do." Said House a little unconvincingly, and with that he left the clinic and headed towards the parking lot.

"Wait!" yelled Wilson, "How am I supposed to get home?"

"Get another ride?" replied House in a 'duh' sort of way before disappearing from Wilson's view somewhere near the handicapped parking section.

Wilson sighed and turned around to look for someone he knew who could give him a ride home. Surely any of the nurses would love to take him home, but he couldn't see that any of them were leaving yet. Just as he was about to go to the cafeteria and waste some time there thinking over possible ways to get home, he heard that familiar click of heels that made him think of Cuddy. He smiled. Surely enough Cuddy appeared around the corner looking tired but hiding it very well with the way she walked and carried herself. 'She works so hard' he though. 'How can anyone manage to look that good with as many hours as she puts in for this hospital?' As his thoughts began to wander to how good she looked instead of how hard she worked he was snapped out of it with Cuddy's friendly smile and kind voice. "Goodnight Dr. Wilson." She said as she made her way towards the exit.

"Um…wait…Dr. Cuddy?" Wilson stammered. He didn't know how he could be so lucky that Cuddy was heading home earlier than usual. "Heading home?"

Cuddy turned around a bit more gracefully than she though possible after sitting in a chair for so long. "Yes, I finished a little earlier than expected. Did you need something?"

"Well, actually, I need a ride home." Wilson really didn't want to explain why.

His hopes were answered when she replied only with "I can take you. Come on."

Wilson smiled once again and they left the hospital together.

* * *

A/N: Well, there's the first chapter. Good? Bad? If it's bad I'll stop. Any constructive criticism is welcome. Or anything at all. Reviews will help me. I'm not sure if I want to make this a House/Cuddy or a Cuddy/Wilson. Right now I'm leaning towards…well nothing. Just tell me what you'd like to see. Oh, but I won't do House/Cam. I'm sorry I'm just not capable of that. I'll try to update as soon as possible. 


	2. Follow You Home

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

* * *

House's excuse that he had work to do wasn't entirely a lie. He always had some work to do whether it be his never ending clinic hours that he spread out generously among his fellows or his paperwork collecting from years ago stored somewhere behind his desk. The work he was planning on doing just wasn't hospital related. Well, it was if you took into consideration that Wilson was a part of the hospital. 

House sat on his bike parked in the handicapped space not far from the door and waited for Wilson to leave. He hoped that he would be able to find a ride home fairly quickly because his leg wasn't in the mood for a stake out right in front of the hospital doors for too long. 'Come on Wilson' thought House 'you can charm the pants off any of those nurses but you can't manage to ask for a ride home?'

Only two minutes later Wilson emerged out of the hospital doors walking step for step next to Cuddy. House managed not to fall off his bike from sheer surprise-not only from Cuddy getting done with work this early, but from seeing Wilson and Cuddy together. He felt a familiar pang of jealousy and brushed it aside. How could he be jealous? He was just protecting his friend from making another mistake and making Cuddy the fourth ex Mrs. Wilson. He wasn't jealous. At least that's what he told himself.

He remained hidden in the shadows while he watched them both get into Cuddy's car and drive off.

House's original plan had been to wait for Wilson to leave and make his way to the hospital's counselor's office and snoop around for any files on Wilson. House wasn't sure whether Wilson was seeing a therapist or not, but thought that it couldn't hurt to find out. Especially since he found out that Wilson was taking anti-depressants. Wilson had said it had been personal and that had piqued House's interest. But House now found himself at a stalemate and couldn't decide on whether he should spy on Wilson by checking his files (that may or may not exist) or by following him and Cuddy to his place. He could no longer hear Cuddy's engine and needed to make his decision quick. He decided to go with the latter. That way he could spy on both Cuddy and Wilson at the same time.

The engine on his bike roared to life and he smiled at the feeling. Ever since he'd gotten this bike he'd began to feel more alive than he ever had in the past five years. He loved the thrill he got when he sped down an empty country road and the wind blew fiercely through his hair making him check to see if he still had any left when the ride was over.

He slowly pulled out of the parking lot and began his ride to Wilson's house. That's where he hoped they were going anyway. He didn't know what he would do if they both went to Cuddy's house and…he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and continued to Wilson's house hoping to catch up with them in time to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"So, you must be relieved that you got through with work so early." Wilson broke the silence that had developed in the car, even though they had only been in there for roughly one minute. Wilson hated silences, uncomfortable or not. He was almost always in the mood to talk

Cuddy was glad for the conversation and replied. "Yeah, it seems that House didn't cause too much trouble today. I might be able to get some sleep tonight."

"Well, you deserve it." Cuddy smiled and looked at him briefly before returning her attention to the road. "I mean, well, you work so hard…and you don't need House doing…he just…yeah." Wilson was starting to regret breaking the comfortable silence they had going in the car just moments before.

"Thank you" she replied, still smiling. "So where's your car?"

"Oh, that…it got into a little…" he searched for the right word "accident" 'that would do' he thought.

"Are you OK?" she seemed genuinely concerned and looked him up and down for any apparent injuries.

"I'm fine" he said. "I wasn't even there" he filled her in on what happened and after his explanation she couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! It's not _that_ funny!" he said, laughing a little bit himself. He hadn't seen the humor in it at first until now and marveled at how Cuddy could make him forget how angry he was at that person who wrecked his car and drove off and actually laugh at how a person could be that stressed out.

Before they knew it they were at Wilson's house. "Well, thanks for the ride" Wilson said as he opened the door to get out of the car.

"Anytime," Cuddy said with a smile. Wilson smiled back and left the car, unlocking his door and waving at Cuddy who drove off no doubt to go home and get some well needed sleep.

House pulled up at Wilson's curb just as Wilson closed his door behind him. House was a little upset at having missed whatever happened, but thought it was OK as long as Wilson was going to bed alone and House knew he was judging by the lack of Cuddy's car in the driveway. Satisfied with that little bit of knowledge, House drove off to his place to try and get some sleep. He could bother Wilson about Cuddy some more in the morning.

* * *

A/N: OK, so not much happened in this chapter but I'm working on it. There will be much more exciting stuff to come. I promise. As long as you review! 


	3. Home Away From Home

A/N: There seems to be a lack of reviews so far. Maybe my writing is just really bad and I should stop or…I don't know. If you have time please tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

* * *

Cuddy rolled over in her bed and snuggled deeper into her pillow, getting lost in the sensations of soft cotton rubbing against her cheeks and the scent of strawberries that she deduced was from her shampoo. With thoughts of strawberries and cotton on her mind she began to drift back into a deeper sleep and return to her dream before she lost it completely. 

Cuddy was in her office when House had entered wearing his lab coat. She nearly fainted at the sight but kept her composure. That's when House told her he had finished up on a years worth of paperwork and was on his way to the clinic. She had to sit down to keep from really fainting that time. House seemed concerned and limped over to Cuddy's chair and proceeded to give her a massage. Cuddy tensed up at first but gave in as soon as she felt her muscles begin to relax. She began to sigh and make other appreciative noises as his hands roamed lower…lower…BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Cuddy slammed the alarm clock off nearly breaking it in the process and groaned in frustration. "That was a weird dream" she said to herself as she got out of bed. 'Not that I didn't enjoy it' she thought and smiled slightly. 'Whoa, I did _not_ just think that' she stopped dead in her tracks and the smile vanished from her face as quickly as it had come. "I need coffee" she said out loud to the empty room and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Wilson woke up early, as usual, and was in the middle of blow drying his hair when a thought occurred to him. He hadn't asked Cuddy for a ride to the hospital in the morning. 'I better call House' he thought. He unplugged his hair dryer and made his way to the telephone.

* * *

House was snoring happily in his sleep as images of Carmen Electra and himself filled his mind. His smile quickly turned into a frown when she started to make annoying ringing sounds. "Shut up!" yelled House as he suddenly found himself in his bedroom yelling at his pillow. The morning light assaulted his eyes and he made a mental note to send one of his underlings to go curtain shopping for him. He soon realized that it was his phone that woke him up and he still had another hour or so until he could arrive late to work. He promptly ignored his phone and rolled over in his bed, shielding his eyes from the sun while the answering machine clicked on and Wilson's voice filled House's bedroom. 

"House…House I know you're there. Pick up. I need a ride to work. I know you haven't left yet. House! Pick up the-

"God you're annoying in the morning." House's voice was still groggy from sleep and he rolled out of bed slowly, careful of his leg.

"Well it's time you got up anyways I'm going to be late and I still don't have a car." Wilson was already ready to go to work and now all he had to do was convince House not to be late to work today.

"So, _I'm _not going to be late. I still have an hour before I even wake up." Unlike Wilson, since House was awake there wasn't really much he had to do until he was ready to go.

"_You_ may not be, but _I _will." Wilson was used to dealing with House and he was very persistent when he had to be.

House sighed. "Don't get your panties in a knot. I'm on my way right now." House popped two vicodin in his mouth and dry swallowed them before hanging up the phone. As the pain dulled out to a slow throbbing instead of the sharp stabbing sensations he usually feels after just waking up, he thought of various ways to bother Wilson some more about Cuddy.

* * *

The hospital was less busy than usual when Cuddy arrived. That was a good thing, though as that meant there weren't many sick people around for her to chase her doctors around to treat-mainly House. She had been spending more time at the hospital these past few weeks. House would sometimes refer to the hospital as Cuddy's "baby", but she liked to think of it more as her second home, but lately she was feeling as though she was living in a rut and inwardly sighed as she passed the nurse's station and received the same friendly hellos from the overly cheery young nurses that she had been receiving ever since she started to work at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She was surprised that by now there were no indentations left in the ground from where she walks in her heels everyday. 

She was making her way to her office following the same route she always did when Nurse Brenda called her.

"Dr. Cuddy! You have a phone call waiting for you! They said it was important."

"Thank you Brenda, I'll take it in my office." Cuddy nodded her thanks to Brenda and proceeded to her office, wondering the whole way who it could be.

Cuddy made her way into her office and hung her coat on the rack as the doors to her office slowly swung shut. She walked over to the phone and took a seat behind her desk. She picked up the phone… "Dr. Lisa Cuddy, Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, what can I do for you?" she said in her most administrative voice that would make benefactors practically throw money at her and interns kiss the ground she walked on.

If anyone were in her office they would've left immediately after seeing the look on Cuddy's face. It was one of surprise at first followed by confusion then something resembling sadness, but most confusing of all was the look of pure anger or possibly hatred that flashed across her eyes.

* * *

A/N: I just realized there's been a lack of House/Cuddy interaction in this fic. That'll be coming up probably in the next chapter or so. Please tell me what you think. It would really help. 


	4. Calls From Home

A/N: First of all thank you to any of you who reviewed. That was much appreciated. My interest in writing this piece has been renewed, so here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it! There's quite a bit of flashbacks in this one, but all you need to know is that flashbacks are in _italics._

Disclaimer: See Chapter one

* * *

"_Lisa! Dinner's ready sweetheart!" A young girl dashed quickly down the stairs, her soft dark curls bouncing off her shoulders as she quickly rounded the corner into the dinning room. She took her seat next to her mother and smiled happily as she deeply inhaled the aroma of her mother's famous spaghetti and meatballs. Lisa scooped a generous portion onto her plate and her mother chuckled. "What?" exclaimed Lisa. Her mother simply shook her head and grinned. "Nothing sweetheart." Lisa's eyes narrowed as she looked at her mother, but then her expression returned to normal as she turned her attention back to her plate._

_Laura Cuddy was a beautiful woman with a petite figure and curly dark brown hair that cascaded down her back past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were an amazing steel blue that would probably be the first thing you would notice upon meeting her._

_Across from Lisa sat her dad, Mike Cuddy. He was a strong man with jet black hair and brown eyes. His face was rugged with stubble across his cheeks and jaw line. He was intimidating to most people because of his height and muscular build. He smiled at his little girl and mimicked her action by scooping up some spaghetti onto his plate until it was completely covered._

_Laura Cuddy laughed out loud as she noticed the similarities between her husband and daughter. They weren't so similar in looks, but their personalities were so alike that if they were somehow able to switch bodies she would be none the wiser._

_Her laugh did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of the table as both father and daughter looked up at Laura and said simultaneously, "What?" This only caused her to laugh louder until she was clutching her stomach from it. Mike and Lisa looked on with their eyebrows raised as tears started to form in Laura's eyes. "Are you OK, mom?" asked a slightly worried Lisa. Laura stopped laughing to answer her daughter. "I'm fine sweetie." She had stopped laughing, but continued to clutch her stomach as they all finished their meal._

* * *

"So what's up with you and Cuddy?" House picked up Wilson thirty minutes late and they were now on their way to the hospital. 

"I thought we went over this already. We're just friends, House." Wilson was getting tired of this conversation.

"She gave you a ride home last night." House stated matter of factly.

"Yes! Because _you _left me at the hospital without a ride!"

"And Cuddy just happened to walk by at that precise moment and offer you a ride home?" House said disbelievingly.

"Well, actually that's pretty much how it happened."

"You could've found a different ride home." House added quietly.

"Wait." Wilson said suddenly. "How did you know Cuddy gave me a ride home?"

"I know everything." House said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Wilson realized he wasn't going to get an answer for that and turned his questioning to what he really needed to know. "Why do you care so much?"

"I'm just-" began House, but he was cut off by Wilson.

"And don't tell me you're trying to protect me. The only reason you interfere with people's lives is because it's for your amusement or it affects you in some way."

House held both of his hands up to his chest, directly over his heart. "Harsh man, that really hurt." He put his hands back on the wheel and continued driving as he spoke. "Someone's got to stop the train." House repeated his comment from a couple of weeks ago.

"Ha! Yeah I know. I've got to stop the train by sleeping with Cuddy. Right. You know, somehow I think you wouldn't make that easy for me." Wilson looked at House when he didn't receive an answer. "House?" Wilson's voice became serious. "Do you like Cuddy?"

_

* * *

_

_The following evening as Lisa's family sat down to dinner her mother didn't eat much. When asked why, she simply replied that she wasn't hungry. After dinner her mother retreated to her bedroom complaining of feeling nauseous. Mike Cuddy put his hand on his daughter's head like he had many times before to comfort her. He wasn't an overly emotional man, but Lisa knew her father loved her and him putting his hand on her head was his way of telling her just that. He gave his daughter a reassuring smile before he removed his hand from Lisa's head and followed his wife up to the bedroom._

* * *

House parked his car in the handicapped space of the hospital's parking lot and got out of the car. Wilson got out of the car as well and followed House up to the hospital's front doors. "You didn't answer my question." Wilson considered the options. If House _did_ like Cuddy then it would justify why House was so interested in her love life all of a sudden. If House _didn't _like Cuddy then it would just be House being House and getting into everybody's business just to make them miserable. Wilson really didn't know which one it was, but thought that he needed to know. He knew House had been hurt badly in his relationships before and didn't want to see him get hurt again. Especially if it was his doing because he was spending too much time with Cuddy. Now, Cuddy was Wilson's friend and he wasn't going to stop spending time with her, but if House had any feelings for Cuddy he would back off a bit. Too bad House wasn't very open with his emotions. 

"I'm sorry," House said insincerely, "what was the question again?" He hadn't forgotten the question, but in actuality he had been thinking so hard about it for the rest of the drive to the hospital that he'd forgotten the exact wording that Wilson used.

Wilson wasn't in the mood to play games with House. "Do you like Cuddy?" They stopped walking at the entrance of the hospital.

"Are we talking about the same Cuddy here? Because the one I'm referring to is the devil." Wilson sighed. He should've known it was never as easy as just asking. 'When you want to know the truth about someone, that someone is the last person you should ask.' House's words or something like them flashed through Wilson's mind. He'd have to find some other way to figure this out.

_

* * *

_

_Lisa had never been in a hospital before. It was one of the biggest buildings Lisa had ever been in and even though she was worried about her mom, she couldn't help but think that she liked it here in the hospital. She was making her way to her mother's room when she stopped to listen in on a conversation between two doctors. One of them she recognized during her self-guided tour of the hospital worked in oncology. She concentrated hard to make out bits and pieces of their seemingly unpleasant conversation. 'Mrs. Cuddy, presenting with nausea, stomach pains, loss of appetite, vomiting, and vomiting blood.' Lisa thougth that she heard enough and retreated into her mother's room._

_The same doctor Lisa had seen talking outside her mother's room only moments ago was now standing at the foot of her bed with a file in hand. Lisa was too scared to fully concentrate on what the doctor was saying, but caught the last part just in time. 'I'm so sorry Mrs. Cuddy, you have stomach cancer.' The doctor explained that there was nothing they could do for her and left to give the family some privacy._

_Lisa held her mother while she cried and managed to spare a glance at her father. He seemed sad as he wispered comforting words to his wife, but Lisa noticed the look of hate he threw after the doctor as he left the room._

* * *

Cuddy was silent on her end of the phone for what seemed like several minutes after that now unfamiliar voice filled her ears. This was the last person she was expecting a call from and her heart dropped from the memories it conjured up from somewhere deep inside that she had been keeping locked up since she was only twelve years old. 

She found her voice once again and said in an unemotional tone, "What do you want Mike?"

* * *

A/N: I think I promised some House/Cuddy interaction in this chapter, but the flashbacks took up more space than I originally thought they would. I'll try to get that in the next chapter hopefully. With that said I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So hit that little purple button and tell me if you did. 


	5. I'm Sick

A/N: There was a part missing from my last chapter somewhere in the last flashback. I fixed it, so go check to see if you read it. It might explain a little more about Cuddy's relationship with her father. Thanks again to those of you who reviewed!

Disclaimer: See first chapter

* * *

"Can't a father call his daughter without some ulterior motive behind it?" Mike's voice was gruff and slightly coarse. Much different than the soft, soothing voice she remembered from when she was a little girl. 

"You never call just to chat, Mike. In fact I haven't heard from you in over twenty years. So let's just get this over with, okay?" Cuddy had lost contact with her father a long time ago and she had no reason to reconnect with him now.

"Alright, fine." He was more than willing to get straight to the point. "Look, Lisa, The reason I called is because I need your help." Mike's voice became quieter and he seemed almost ashamed at having to ask his daughter for help. "I'm sick." He said quickly.

There was a short pause on Cuddy's end of the line before she replied. "What do you mean sick?"

"He means he feels better than ever." Cuddy jumped slightly in her seat and looked up to see House enter her office, dramatically swinging both doors open wide before limping in to stand in front of Cuddy's desk. "Seriously Cuddy, how did you get through medical school without knowing the definition of sick?" House took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Cuddy's desk and propped his feet up on the edge of her desk.

Cuddy covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her palm and turned her attention to the man who so _politely _entered her office without even knocking. She made a mental note to fire her secretary who let him in and tried to get House out of her office. "I'm busy, House. You can come back later."

"Oh, I don't mind, I can wait." House leaned farther back into his chair and admired his brand new black and red Nike shocks currently displaying themselves proudly on Cuddy's desk.

"Shouldn't you be in the clinic right now?" Cuddy said irritably.

"Why would I be in the clinic when I could be in here with you?" House put on his most charming smile.

Cuddy frowned at House and continued her conversation on the phone.

"How sick? And why are you calling _me_ for this. Why are you even calling anyone at all?"

House listened to the one sided conversation with interest. The person on the other line had been sick. Cuddy would never talk that way to a patient.

Cuddy sighed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

House tried to read Cuddy's expression. She seemed bothered by whatever this person was telling her and House could tell that she wanted nothing more than to conclude the conversation as soon as possible. She appeared to be contemplating whatever this person just told her and after a minute of silence she finally replied.

"Fine," Cuddy said sounding slightly defeated, and with that she hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" inquired House.

"Your hooker. She wanted to get tested." She really wished that House hadn't heard any of her phone conversation. Now she wouldn't hear the end of it until he got his answer.

"Oh, _snap_!" exclaimed House, sitting up straighter in his chair, "I _knew _you two knew each other."

The current exchange with House and call from her father had drained Cuddy of a considerable amount of energy.

"Where are you going?" said House, tuning in his chair to watch Cuddy leave her office. He was slightly upset that Cuddy had ended their conversation so promptly. He would never tell anyone this, but he rather enjoyed their daily banter together.

"I need a break," was all she said before heading in the general direction of the cafeteria.

Cuddy barely made it to the nurse's station before Nurse Brenda flagged her down with a wave of her hand. 'Not now,' thought Cuddy.

"Dr. Cuddy! This just arrived for you." She handed Cuddy a file. Cuddy took it with curiosity and opened it, not bothering to discontinue walking on her way to the cafeteria.

It was her father's medical files. 'Wow, this sure got here quick,' thought Cuddy. 'Wait a minute! No one's that fast. He must've sent these out a while ago.' Cuddy was disrupted from her thoughts when she literally bumped into Wilson, who was also busy reading over a medical file on one of his current patients.

Wilson's arm reached out amidst the flying papers to wrap around Cuddy's waist, trying to prevent her from falling. The effort was futile, however when they both made contact with the hard tiles. Wilson landed on the bottom, below Cuddy, shielding her from most of the impact. They both took a moment to catch their breath while they gradually became aware of their present situation. Cuddy was positioned nicely on top of Wilson, her legs on either side of him. Wilson still had one arm looped around her waist, effectively keeping the two of them chest to chest, faces mere inches apart.

"Ehem!" House cleared his throat loudly, gathering the attention of anyone in the lobby who may not have already been starring at the head of oncology and the Dean of Medicine sprawled out on the floor together. "Why Cuddy," House stated in mock surprise, "If this is what you call taking a break I would have gladly volunteered. You didn't have to come all the way out here."

Cuddy was snapped out of her daze and quickly scrambled to get off of Wilson. He reluctantly loosened his hold on her waist and remained on the floor watching Cuddy hastily snatch up some papers, thrust them into a file and head off to the confines of her office.

"Is this a new trend? _Friends_ jumping each other in the lobby of an exceptionally crowded hospital?" House directed his question towards Wilson. "I either didn't get the memo or '_friends' _is a really loose term for you."

* * *

A/N: Wow, well this was a very difficult chapter for me to complete. I think I'll take a break from this fic for a while and direct my attentions to writing a different one. I just can't find the motivation to continue on this one anymore. I'm sorry to any of you who were actually reading this. I _might_ continue it later after I've had enough time writing other pieces. 


	6. Lean on Me

A/N: So writing that new fic really helped me out. And you guys are reviewing! Yea! So I'm back on track now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: see chapter one

* * *

Cuddy was once again sitting in the same chair she had recently vacated only minutes ago. 'So much for a break,' thought Cuddy. She decided to get back to work and opened her father's file cautiously, as if something might jump out of it at any moment and attack her. Cuddy sighed, 'why am I being so paranoid?' She flipped open the file and began to read. It didn't last long, though, as realization suddenly hit her. 'I know I lost contact with my father, but I'm pretty sure he isn't a twelve year old named Stephanie Stephens.' Cuddy reluctantly got out of her chair for the second time that day and made her way towards Wilson's office.

* * *

Wilson pulled himself up off of the floor and wiped himself off. The floor wasn't dirty, but it was just a subconscious action for Wilson that he didn't even notice. "Don't start this again, House," said Wilson, "you know we just fell." 

"Riiight," said House, "just like you _fell_ on your last three wives?" House added condescendingly.

Wilson bent down to pick up his files and put them neatly back into his folder, quite a contrast from the way Cuddy practically shoved them into hers in her haste to get out of there. "Don't you have work to do? Like the clinic, maybe?" Wilson asked hopefully.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Dr. House _always_ does his clinic hours." He said sarcastically. "As a matter of fact, _Dr. House_ is doing my clinic hours for me right now." As he said this Chase walked out of exam room one, sporting a nametag on his coat the read, 'Dr. House'. Chase threw a dirty look House's way and grabbed another patient file. House smiled victoriously. "See?"

Wilson sighed. "Well, I have no one to do my work for me so I better get going. See you later House." With that Wilson turned and left towards his office, his head once again cast downwards, reading his patients' files.

"Later Jimmy." House turned in the opposite direction and set out in the direction of coma guy's room to try and attempt level six on his psp game once again.

* * *

Wilson's head rose up out of the suspicious medical file to focus on the knocking at his door. "Come in!" he said absentmindedly. 

Cuddy materialized at his doorway and he couldn't help but smile. Not only from the memories of their previous encounter still fresh in his mind, but he couldn't help but smile every time he saw her.

"Lisa, uh, Cuddy," he quickly reprimanded himself, "what can I do for you?" Wilson was settled comfortably in his office, the shades drawn to let just the right amount of light in, but not too much to blind any one, and he had removed his coat, his sleeves rolled neatly up his forearms. Cuddy grinned slightly at the fact that he still had his tie on. It was a very bold tie in a very repulsive green color and repetitive square pattern. For some reason she thought the ridiculous tie looked good on him.

Cuddy returned her train of thought to the reason why she was here. She held out a file and extended her arm across his desk. "I believe this is yours."

Wilson took the file and placed it gently on his desk. "Yeah, it is thank you. Then I guess this would be yours." Cuddy reached out and took the file from Wilson, smiling nervously.

"Did you read it?" her fingers tapped a made up rhythm on the back of the file, hoping that Wilson hadn't had enough time to figure out who the file belonged to.

Wilson chose his next words very carefully. "Does that belong to who I think…" he began.

"Yes." She answered curtly.

"I'm so sorry." Wilson had enough time to assess who the file belonged to as well as what his symptoms most likely pointed to.

Cuddy's face held no emotion as she asked, vaguely confused, "For what?"

Wilson was shocked from his sudden revelation. "You haven't read it yet, have you?"

Cuddy didn't respond as she opened up the file and read over her father's symptoms.

'Chronic cough

Hoarseness

Coughing up blood

Weight loss & loss of appetite

Shortness of breath

Fever without a known reason

Wheezing

Repeated bouts of bronchitis or pneumonia

Chest pain'

Cuddy remembered the hoarseness of her father's voice over the phone and she visibly stiffened. Wilson rose from his chair to walk over to Cuddy. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew." Cuddy looked up at the oncologist and shivered. He had the same brown eyes as the doctor who had diagnosed her mother with stomach cancer. And now this _cancer_ specialist, the _head_ of the oncology department, was telling her he was sorry.

"Its lung cancer isn't it?" Cuddy asked, dreadful of his response, but already knowing the answer.

Wilson simply enveloped her in a hug and she put her head on his shoulder, not shedding a tear for father, but just relishing in the comfort Wilson was providing for her as old memories returned.

Flashback:

_The hospital room was quiet as Lisa sat at her mother's bedside, listening to the heart monitor and other machines beeping and buzzing to keep her mother as comfortable as possible in her last moments in this world. Her father was pacing back and forth frantically on the other side of the room by the window, stopping occasionally to look at his wife and daughter, shake his head in a gesture of sadness, and return to his pacing. Every so often a doctor would stop by to check in on Laura, or a nurse would come in and fluff her pillows, anything to make her more comfortable. Lisa couldn't help but admire what the doctors were doing for her mother and silently vowed to one day become just like these nice doctors, going out of their way to help people who couldn't help themselves. _

_When the oncologist who had delivered the news returned to check in on her mother, her father visibly stiffened and his face hardened. Just as Mike Cuddy was about to say something, the beeping on her mother's heart monitor suddenly picked up its pace. Lisa withdrew in fear as the doctor ran to Laura's bedside, checking her vitals and murmuring numbers and statistics to himself. Laura's breathing became erratic as Lisa watched numbers on the screen plummet at an alarming rate. Mike Cuddy asked frantically what was wrong with her, screaming at the doctor to do something. "Why won't you do something!" he had said. Lisa would never forget those words._

_Mike and Lisa had been ushered out of Laura's room by some nurses who had rushed in to help the doctor. Mike and Lisa rushed to the window to keep an eye on what was going on when the blinds were drawn. Mike broke down right then and there and cried, while Lisa held him in her arms much the same as she did for her mother not too long ago. The last sound she heard was the steady note coming from her mother's room as the doors opened, a few nurses came out and Lisa heard the words she had been dreading… "Time of death…1:32 pm"_

Cuddy opened her eyes and pulled away from Wilson. She hadn't realized that she had shed a single tear. She went to wipe it away, but Wilson got there first. His hand lingered on her face and his left hand came up to join his other as it cupped her cheek. His other hand gently pushed back a strand of hair as he took a step closer…

* * *

A/N: Okay, I gotta stop it there. What do you think? Is Wilson coming on too strong, too fast? Should he do it or should I make you wait a little longer? I received some reviews…but no one seems opposed to some wuddy. Plus I'm finding it easier in this particular fic to write wuddy instead of huddy, but I've got house pretty jealous so far so I think I can play with it some, cause some conflict. Just tell me what you want, I'm writing this for you! It's not too late! Oh, and I can't update this untill I get some feedback, so you know what to do! 


	7. Needing a Friend

A/N: I'm sooo sorry about the long wait. I've been having a bit of writer's block with this story lately, particularly in the flashback sections, and I just came back from a trip, but I wouldn't want to keep you waiting any longer so here it is! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: see chapter one

* * *

Wilson looked into Cuddy's eyes as he tilted her chin up and watched for any signs of hesitancy he might find in them. When she didn't pull away he made his move. His lips slowly descended towards hers… 

Wilson's office door swung open wildly as House appeared in the doorway. "You're not going to believe who I just saw behind the…" House's sentence trailed off as he realized what he had just walked in on.

Wilson jumped back so far he hit his head on the wall behind him. Unlike Wilson, Cuddy didn't move much, her mind still lost in her memories.

Wilson's office was enveloped in an awkward and absolute silence as the three looked at each other. House was staring incredulously and enviously at Wilson, Wilson was looking back and forth between House and Cuddy, his face a cross of emotions between embarrassment at being caught, disappointment at being interrupted, and mortification with the fact that he would be dealing with House later, while Cuddy looked at the floor nervously and slightly confused.

The beeping of a pager pierced through the silence that had consumed Wilson's office and both Wilson and Cuddy went to check their pagers. House didn't move as he continued to stare spitefully at Wilson.

Cuddy swallowed hard and inhaled sharply as she read the message. "I've got to go." She let out a deep breath and left the office hurriedly.

House remained still as he continued to scrutinize Wilson, who was now shifting his weight nervously from side to side. Wilson couldn't take it anymore and spoke up. "No sarcastic comment about-" he was cut off by House.

"What the hell were you doing with Cuddy in your office?" He finally stepped out of his space in the doorway and walked up to Wilson.

"I was only comforting her…she needed a friend." Wilson explained himself.

House rolled his eyes. "Again with the friend speech. I think you need to look up the definition of _friend_ in a dictionary." He took another step closer, "You don't take friends to plays and art exhibits, you don't jump them in the middle of the hospital, and you definitely _don't_-" his voice was getting louder with each example he gave, but was cut off by Wilson.

"We weren't doing anything, House." Wilson started, "With everything that's going on, she just needed someone."

House stopped what he was about to say when he took in Wilson's exact words. House visibly seemed to have forgotten about the incident only a minute ago as his anger alleviated completely and he asked, both curious and concerned, "What's going on?"

* * *

Cuddy walked slowly towards room 207 and stopped just outside the door. Her father had been admitted into the hospital only ten minutes ago, yet Cuddy couldn't find the courage to go inside and see him face to face. The blinds into Mike's room were drawn shut and Cuddy leaned against the wall heavily, her face cast downwards looking at the tiles of the hospital floor. 

Flashback:

_A fifteen year old Lisa Cuddy found herself standing outside the very same room her mother had died in only three short years ago. The blinds were closed and she had a feeling that the room was occupied, so she had opted to remain outside and lean against the wall as she closed her eyes and took in the sounds of the hospital. _

_She had relived the memories of that fateful day in her mind over and over again since the day it had happened and couldn't get away from them no matter how hard she tried. So it was uncertain to her why she found herself in the very place where the memories were the strongest._

_She was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard a minor commotion ahead. She looked up to see her father making his way towards her, pushing past doctors and nurses unapologetically, until he came to stand right next to her. "What are you doing here?" He was obviously enraged and grabbed her firmly by her arm as he began to pull her through the busy hospital corridors. "Let go of me!" Lisa struggled against her father, which only made him tighten his hold on her arm._

"_Stop acting like this! We're going home!" he yanked her arm so hard that Lisa felt like it would disconnect from her body. She knew that she couldn't win in a tug-of-war contest against her father so she decided to give in._

"_Okay, okay, just let go of me." She said as calmly as she could to not attract anymore unwanted attention than they already had. "I can walk by myself, you know." She added quietly, almost to herself, as he released his death grip on her arm._

"Cuddy!" House was waving his hand in front of her face trying to get her attention for the past minute now and he was growing impatient.

"What?" Cuddy lightly smacked House's hand away from her face. "If you want me to authorize a dangerous and unnecessary procedure for one of your patients, I'm not in the mood right now."

"Actually I just wanted to show you my new lawsuit against me" Cuddy looked at him in disbelief. "Apparently people don't like it when you stick a-"

"House!" Cuddy cut House off mid sentence. "Can't you go _one_ day without pissing someone off?" she asked hopefully.

House grinned. "Well, now that wouldn't be any fun." Cuddy let out an exasperated breath. "Calm down, I'm just kidding." Cuddy glared at House.

"With it not being any fun or with the lawsuit?" Cuddy leaned more profoundly against the wall.

"The lawsuit." House narrowed his eyes at Cuddy as he began to scrutinize her. He had never seen her this exhausted before. Sure she worked late into the night and was probably always tired, but this was an entirely different level. The way she put all of her body weight against the wall as if she had nothing left to hold herself up with was so unlike Cuddy that House could barely recognize her.

Cuddy remained against the wall saying nothing when House spoke again, "Aren't you going to go in?"

* * *

A/N: I'm going to stop here; otherwise I would never update it. So what do you think? Reviews always help me write faster! And I've enabled anonymous reviews so don't be shy! I'm not too proud of my updating abilities with this fic, so if you need something to hold you over until the next chapter, you should check out my other fic, _blood, sweat, and tears, _if you like suspense or if you haven't already. So go ahead and push that little purple button for me. 


	8. Internal Battle

Cuddy lifted her eyes to meet House's piercing gaze as he spoke to her. "He is your father, isn't he?" he clarified. Her silence was all the answer he needed_. 'She is just too easy to read sometimes,'_ thought House. "If he wasn't your father, you would've had no problem denying him, but your silence just screams a resounding 'yes'." House explained himself.

Cuddy didn't even bother to give a look of surprise at how he managed to figure her out without even a word from her and simply nodded her head in defeat. It was unnatural how well House had always been able to read her like an open book. "You should be in there with him, not hiding out in the hallway." House added factually.

To anyone else this would've made sense, but not to Cuddy. She could think of so many different reasons why she didn't _want_ to see him, but she had never been able to pinpoint exactly why she _couldn't_ see him. "But here you are…" began House, perplexed. "So the only question is…why?" He furrowed his brow in thought and intensified his stare at her tenfold.

Not being able to formulate a response to House's question, and feeling complete naked under his blatant staring, she simply turned her head to look through the window into Mike's room, but sighed when she was met only by the sight of closed blinds. Her vision remained focused to where it was as she tried to envision her father lying helplessly in a hospital bed. When the images never came, she gave up and turned to walk away, leaving a mystified House and dying father in her wake.

'_What am I so afraid of?'_ Cuddy thought to herself as she walked to nowhere in particular.

'_This is ridiculous.'_ She told herself_. 'I can't continue to avoid him for the rest of my life.'_

'_Well, I was doing a good job of it until now.'_ Another side of her conscience spoke up.

'_Exactly. But he's _here_ now. You can't hide anymore.' _Cuddy had just unconsciously prompted an internal argument with herself.

'_But why? It's not like I had any intention of seeing him before this. Why should his dying change any of that?' _her mind worked in overdrive to generate an answer to that.

'_It's not supposed to.' _was the only thing she could think of. _'He's your father. Maybe you should stop trying to avoid this any longer. This is the first time in over twenty years that you've stopped to analyze things about your relationship with him, and even though it took his dying to do that, at least you're thinking about it. So whether you know it or not, a small part of you really does want to figure things out between the two of you. And maybe then you can work things out before it's too late. He's right here waiting for you, so he only thing standing in your way now is your persistent refusal to find out why.'_

Cuddy came to a sudden halt as the words registered in her mind. She had always wondered, but could never figure out why. She hated that question because of him. And now it was the only thing on her mind as she turned back around and headed to Mike's room once again. _'Why?'_

A/N: I know it's short, but I'd rather update now and add more later than continue to put it off some more. So leave me some reviews and tell me what you think!


	9. I Need You

Cuddy strode down the halls to Mike's room with more confidence than she had displayed the previous time she had attempted to confront her father only minutes ago. Her mind was made up now and nothing could stop her from getting the answers she so desperately sought after ever since she was a little girl.

When she turned the corner into the hallway that Mike's room was in, she was surprised to see that House was still there, now occupying the same space on the wall that she had recently vacated. House turned his head upon hearing the familiar click of her heels and sat up straighter against the wall.

"What are you still doing here?" asked Cuddy as she neared closer to him.

"I knew you'd come back." He answered simply.

"And…you wanted to?" she held out the last word a little longer than it should have been and let it trail off, coercing him to finish the sentence himself.

House grinned to himself as thoughts of what he really wanted to do to her flew through his mind. Cuddy must've recognized the look of desire in his eyes and quickly restated her question. "I mean did you need something from me?" she grimaced at her new choice of words as soon as they left her mouth and regretted them immediately after seeing the look House was currently giving her.

House's right eyebrow shot up at that question. "Oh, I need you." He said with the same pleased smirk on his face.

Cuddy knew what he was referring to, but for reasons unknown to her she hoped that he had meant it in other ways as well. The sudden thought of wanting to be needed by none other than House shocked her, but she quickly recovered. "You know what I mean!" she said, irritation evident in her voice. "You have no reason to be here, but you are. Either you just want to annoy me or I'm not giving you enough work." She added the last part as a threat, but House, as usual, didn't take it seriously.

House acted taken aback and put a hand to his chest for effect. "Why, Cuddy! I'm hurt!" he put on a sad face for Cuddy and even pouted his lips. He was only acting, but it was partly real. In a minuscule way it really did hurt him that she would think that he didn't care about her. "I didn't come here to_ annoy_ you." he explained. Cuddy crossed her arms impatiently and waited for him to continue. "I want to help you." He said, wiping the false sadness from his face and replacing it with one that showed Cuddy he was dead serious.

"I don't need your help." She said shortly, wondering where House got up the nerve to be worried about her. He was usually the cause of her troubles, and now he actually cared about how she was feeling. Instead of being confused and frustrated with House's sudden change in behavior, it sent a good feeling through her to know that he genuinely cared for her. "This is personal." She said lastly.

'_Like I haven't heard that before.'_ thought House. The intimidating look in Cuddy's eyes told him that she was serious and that he should just mind his own business, but he couldn't help himself. "Alright." He said quickly. Cuddy looked at him skeptically. "I'll just stand right here and mind my own business." He leaned next to the door frame to Mike's room with a self-satisfied grin on his face. Cuddy wanted to smack that look right off his face, but the feeling vanished after he spoke his next words. "I'll be here if you need me." He took the liberty of wiping the grin off his face himself and replaced it with one of caring and something else that she couldn't quite identify. She looked into his astonishingly blue eyes that were locked intensely with hers and tried to determine what exactly it was. _'Could it be…no.' _she shook the thought from her head and took a deep breath. Completely comfortable with the knowledge that House would be only a few feet away from her the entire time, she slid the door open apprehensively. House nodded reassuringly at her and she stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her.

A/N: I'm going to try to bring this story to an end soon. Probably in another two to four chapters. So leave me a review! I'm really busy and reviews motivate me like crazy. Oh, and tell me if you'd prefer for Mike to live…or die…but I can't promise anything. I'll just end up doing whatever will make a more effective ending for this story. And I have two other fics that I need to be updating, so I won't update this one until I get at least five reviews! So come on! That's not too much to ask for, is it?


	10. What Happened?

A/N: Sooo sorry this took so long. I've been busy… I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for all your great reviews!

Disclaimer: see chapter one

* * *

House waited outside of Mike's room patiently, just as he'd promised Cuddy. He didn't know why she hadn't wanted to see her father, or why she had changed her mind and actually took the plunge into Mike's room, but if she didn't want to talk about it he would leave it alone. He could only hope that maybe one day she would confide in him enough to tell him. But for now he would support her in any way he could, even if it meant all he could do was stand outside a hospital room and wait for her to come out. He was curious as to what that would be like. Would she come out smiling and carefree, or would she come out in tears. He had no idea, although he much rather preferred the former. He didn't know what he would do if he saw her crying. He'd probably march into that room and punch her father right in the face, sick or not. 

As House waited he spotted Wilson making his way over. "Hey." said Wilson. "What are you doing?" he asked upon seeing House propped up against the wall next to Mike's room.

"What are _you_ doing?" House asked, avoiding the question with another question.

Wilson looked around uneasily. "I thought I'd run some tests on Cuddy's father to confirm if he has…" he didn't want to say it out loud. He'd dealt with numerous cancer patients over the years, but when it affected someone he knew, or in this case someone one of his friends knew it was always a difficult thing for him. "Or doesn't have…" he added hopefully.

House nodded. It had to be done. But when Wilson reached for the door handle to Mike's room House stopped him by grabbing his wrist, causing Wilson to look up at House's stern face. "Later." House told him. Wilson understood and released the door handle as House released his wrist.

"Page me when she's done." Wilson wanted to stay and support Cuddy when she emerged from Mike's room, but the protective look in House's eyes told him that was House's job and no one else's. "And House," Wilson addressed House in a serious tone of voice, "Don't do anything stupid." House's expression was clueless. "You can deny it to me, to Cuddy, to yourself even, but you _do_ like Cuddy." House's face remained emotionless. "I know you do." he stated clearly, "What I don't understand is why she feels the same way about you." A look of disbelief flashed momentarily across House's face. "She needs you. Especially right now. So don't screw this up." He didn't wait for House to respond. He merely turned and retreated back down the hallway he had come from, leaving a highly confused House in his wake, speculating the whole way the events that were taking place in that room.

The breath rushed out of her lungs from the first moment her eyes made contact with her father. It was almost like a slap to the face. To see her father lying weakly in a hospital bed. The once powerful man, now completely vulnerable and contingent on machines to keep him alive. After all these years this is what it all came down to.

"Lisa." Mike looked surprised to see his daughter.

Cuddy didn't know what to say. It had been so long since she called him _dad_ that it seemed foreign to her. So she decided to skip with the formalities. "I can't stay long." she lied. "I have a lot of work to do." she watched as he nodded weakly and continued, "I just…I needed to know…" Now that she was actually here she didn't know what to say. It was so different in reality than how she had always imagined the confrontation between herself and her father would be. "What happened? Between us." she asked quietly. Mike took a labored breath and extended his arm to pat the empty seat next to his bed. She accepted his invitation and sat down next to him, anxiously awaiting his next words.

* * *

A/N: I don't like making these chapters so short but I decided to post this as it is instead of making you wait any longer. School is starting and I won't have much time to write, but I'll try my best to update as soon as possible. Leave me a review! And I don't know if I mentioned this before, but anonymous reviews have been enabled as well! Just tell me what you think! 


	11. The Truth

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I should actually be doing homework right now instead of writing this, but whatever. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: see chapter one

* * *

Cuddy watched in silence as her father leaned farther into his bed. The lines in his face seemed to soften as he let out a deep sigh and close his eyes. 

Flashback:

_Lisa had long since fallen into a peaceful slumber stretched out over her father's lap, his arms cradling over her protectively. The television flared different hues of blue over the darkness of the living room. Mike had set the television on mute after realizing that his daughter had drifted off to sleep and now sat silently looking lovingly down at his daughter. The only thing left in his life that held any meaning to him._

_He stood up slowly, careful not to wake Lisa, and repositioned her on the couch. He walked up to the television and turned it off. It had been a long day for all of them and they both needed their sleep. He walked back over to Lisa and picked her up gently. He carried her back to her room and tucked her in. Kissing her on her forehead he whispered, 'I love you', and left the room, shutting the door on his way out._

_As much as he needed his sleep, his thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. So he grabbed his coat and headed out the door, being sure to lock it on his way out. That night was the longest of his life. He had opted to walk instead of drive and eventually found himself in a familiar park. Memories of a young couple in love sitting on the bench close to each other watching their little girl play with other children filled his mind. He shook his head of happier times and he was once again looking over an empty park. He continued walking, not quite sure of where he was going when he caught sight of a bar across the street._

_The smell of alcohol and smoke filled his nostrils along with the sounds of glasses and mugs being filled to the rim with beer and the mumbling of voices, some happy-possibly celebrating something, others filled with self pity or any other form of depression. Mike had always been good at reading people. He took a seat next to a middle aged looking man. He noticed the tan line around his left ring finger and assumed that he must have recently gone threw a divorce. On the other side of him was a real rough looking man, drinking the cheapest beer in the place, wearing wrinkled clothes and not smelling too pleasant. He was either homeless or in the process of losing his home. But what really caught his attention was a familiar looking man in a booth on the other side of the bar. Curiosity got the better of him and he left his current seat to occupy one closer to the familiar face and who he assumed was the man's friend. Mike was now seated in the booth behind the man and could not see him without turning around- and didn't want to look suspicious by doing so, so he simply listened in on the table's conversation._

_The voice was unmistakable. The same one he would remember until the end of his days. It was his wife's doctor. He strained his ears even harder now to listen over the commotion of the busy bar. _

'_It's not your fault,' another voice entered Mike's ears, presumably the doctor's friend, 'It happens, you're a doctor you know that.'_

'_But I-'_

'_Stop wallowing in self pity. Yeah, it's a shame she died, but you can't save everyone. Especially in your specialty.' It was quiet for a moment and Mike was becoming restless at the silence. He really wished he could see what was happening._

'_Put that down, you've had enough.' there was the sound of a glass hitting the table. 'Are you going to blame yourself every time you lose a patient? Because I'm not going to be here every time that happens to tell you it's not your fault. You have to learn to just forgive yourself and move on. People die. It comes with the job. If you want to have a little pity party then you can blame yourself for choosing the profession that you did.' There was silence again and the sound of leather cracking as someone got up from the seat._

'_That's not it!' after a brief pause the person sat back down and the conversation continued. 'You don't understand! It Was my fault! …I…_

_Mike leaned forward in his seat awaiting the doctor's next words. His fingers were clutching the table in front of him so hard in anticipation that his knuckles were turning white._

'_I wasn't paying attention and I gave her the wrong medication and now she's dead and it's all my fault and if I could go back I would change it but I can't and now her family-' he said in all one breath, but was cut off by his friend._

'_Whoa, calm down! What are you talking about?' before he could get his answer the conversation was interrupted by Mike reaching down and grabbing the doctor by his shirt collar and pulled him up roughly, slamming him down on the table. The doctor's friend jumped up in surprise and tried to pull Mike off of his friend. 'You bastard!' roared Mike as he slammed his fist into the doctor's face repeatedly. The rest was a blur to Mike and before he knew it he was being thrown out of the bar and back into the dark and lonely streets._

'_Daddy.' a small voice startled Mike as he shut the front door to his house and locked it. _

'_Sweetheart,' he replied softly, 'what are doing out of bed?' he walked over to his daughter and knelt down to her level. _

'_Where did you go?' she asked worriedly. _

'_Daddy had some things he needed to take care of. 'Come on,' he said, 'let's go back to bed.' he picked her up and tucked her in once again, shutting her door and going to bed himself this time. He fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, not noticing the blood on his hands._

End Flashback

Mike had never told his daughter about the encounter at the bar that night or the reason her mother had left them so abruptly in an attempt to shield her from the painful truth. He only watched in disgust every time she would emulate a doctor. He knew she looked up to them and hated that fact. It was when she told him she wanted to be a doctor that he couldn't take it anymore.

Mike opened his eyes and smiled sadly at his daughter. She looked so much like her mother now that it tugged at his heart to see her. He emitted a small laugh and shook his head. "You should've been a lawyer." he said to himself.

Cuddy heard it and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Excuse me?" she said skeptically.

"How many lives have you taken?" he asked in a dismal tone of voice, looking her straight in the eyes.

* * *

A/N: Please, please, please review. It would make my day, really. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is actually reading this fic. And I can NOT wait for Tuesday! House is back! YES! 


	12. Revelations

**A/N: I'm so stressed out. My whole weekend has been so hectic. Please enjoy this chapter despite how long it's been since the last update…**

**Disclaimer: see chapter one**

Cuddy was shocked at the words that had just left her father's lips and she sat stunned for minutes on end simply staring at him. She gave a heartbreaking smile and a soft, sorrowful laugh that consumed the silence of the room.

"You know what?" she looked her father dead in the eyes, surprised at what she saw in them. Not only had his physical appearance and condition become worn out throughout the years to the point where she could hardly recognize him, regardless of how hard she looked, she couldn't even find her dad in the dark abyss of nothingness in his eyes. That old cliché about the eyes being the window to the soul had been distorted into an entirely new meaning for Cuddy in that very moment.

She didn't see anything in them. The once life and love filled eyes were now so empty and desolate. It was like she was talking to a mannequin in a hospital bed or one of the dummies that the medical students used for the sole purpose of driving in the carpool lane to get to work quicker. She could scarcely recollect memories of happier times, those being so heavily weighted down by the numerous memories of neglect and loneliness.

"I don't even know what possessed me come see you." Cuddy's voice was bitter. "After all these years you haven't changed at all." Cuddy looked at her father carefully. "You're still the same pessimistic, cynical, uncaring man you were when I was a kid." Mike didn't so much as flinch at his daughter's harsh words. "At first I thought that behavior was normal. That you were only going through the standard behavioral alterations that come with the tragedy of losing a loved one." Cuddy took a breath and shook her head slightly in disappointment. "But I've come to realize that you were always that way. You can only use death as an excuse for your unhappiness for so long before you have to accept that you're just outright miserable." Her father maintained an empty expression on his now pale face. "And I suppose I was naïve to actually assume that things could be different between us. That they could be like old times…when mom was alive." Cuddy got up from her seat and walked slowly towards the door before giving one last apathetic glance back towards her father. "It was nice seeing you again." she said dryly.

-----------------------------------------------------------------confusedsarcasm---------------------------------------------------------------

House was now sitting leisurely on the ground leaning with his back against the wall and his legs extended out in front of him on the wall opposite Mike's room. He was running through several possibilities in his head of how things with Cuddy could possibly turn out and he was secretly hoping for the best. His pager went off suddenly and he ignored it as best he could, hell bent on staying with Cuddy no matter what the circumstances. It beeped again only seconds after and House groaned. He reached into his pocket and read the message. He gave one glance towards the room and thought. She'd been in there for quite a while and could possibly be in for even longer. He would be back in time. He got up from the ground slowly and took off down the hall.

-----------------------------------------------------------------confusedsarcasm---------------------------------------------------------------

Wilson looked down at the little bottle of pills on his desk. Sure he was a little depressed, who wasn't, but he never thought he'd ever be on antidepressants. He looked at his watch and put the bottle back in his desk. Surely Cuddy was done talking and sorting things out with her father by now. House probably forgot to page him, or just neglected to because he didn't feel like it. Wilson left his office before turning the lights off and locking it and walked off towards the direction of Mike's room.

-----------------------------------------------------------------confusedsarcasm---------------------------------------------------------------

Cuddy slid the door to Mike's room open swiftly and exited the room thankfully. She shut the door immediately after walking through it and was disappointed at what she saw. Nothing. The hallway was empty. House was gone. Cuddy stormed off down the hall towards her office. She wasn't as disappointed in him as much as she was with herself. After all these years she should've know not to trust anyone. To confide in anyone. She'd been disappointed more than once in her life it was nothing new to her.

As Cuddy was walking briskly back towards her office she ran into Wilson, although not literally this time. "Cuddy." Wilson sounded surprised to see her by herself. "Where's House?" he inquired curiously. At Cuddy's look Wilson withdrew his question. "Never mind. I was just on my way to check on Mike…" Cuddy only nodded. "How did things go?" he asked carefully.

Cuddy shrugged her shoulders. "I hate him." she said so casually it was like she was talking about the weather. At Wilson's astonished look Cuddy explained herself. "I always have…and I'm okay with that." Cuddy smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. "Because it doesn't matter. Things happen in life that we have no control over. But you just have to live with it and move on with your life." Wilson was silent. "I'm glad I went in there. It's been killing me for so long, but I feel…" Cuddy searched for the right word, "renewed now." Wilson seemed confused. "Don't hold on to the past, Wilson, it'll consume you." With that Cuddy continued to her office, leaving a silently contemplative Wilson behind her.

-----------------------------------------------------------------confusedsarcasm---------------------------------------------------------------

"What is your problem?" asked Wilson, almost shouting at House. House turned and looked at Wilson. His page had sent him to a patient's room and he was now looking for his team to find out where they were and why they couldn't take care of it. He'd forgotten completely about Cuddy.

"My daddy never hugged me as a child." House replied jokingly, "What's your problem?" Wilson looked at House incredulously.

"I can't believe you! What did I _just_ tell you?"

House shrugged his shoulders, "That I had a problem?" House guessed, still in a playful mood.

"This isn't about your problems!" Wilson shouted, obtaining House's undivided attention. "Or what your dad did or didn't do to you. In fact, this is about Cuddy and _her_ dad." House's face fell. He looked at his watch.

"Shit!" exclaimed House, "Where is she?"

Wilson walked up to House and handed him Mike's medical files. "I don't know, but Mike needs his workup done." House looked at Wilson curiously.

"So why don't you do it?"

"I have something I need to take care of. And so do you." said Wilson, referring to Mike and Cuddy as he left House alone. House fell into his chair and flipped over Mike's file. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed deeply. "Damn." he said to himself quietly.

**A/N: Huddy to come in the next chapter…Please R&R…I need a vacation.**


	13. I'm Sorry

**A/N: Next Chapter's up! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, if I did I'm so sorry, but I'm trying really hard to update as soon as I can! Thanks for all the great reviews! Enjoy the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: see chapter one**

Cuddy let the doors to her office shut softly behind her; the only sound surrounding her being the air pushed carelessly aside from the weight of her office doors closing and the gentle humming of her computer at the back end of her office. She made her way immediately towards the comfort of her couch and plopped down on it restlessly, kicking off her heels in the process and spreading out appreciatively across the entire length of the couch, her sore feet propped up over the armrest near the door separating her from the commotion beyond it that only a hospital could produce. She emitted a satisfying sigh at the comfort granted to her by the couch and closed her eyes, as if that one simple action could take her away from all that was happening around her, with her father, her childhood, House, Wilson, and anything and everything else that kept her tossing and turning at night in a restless struggle for sleep.

Just as Cuddy was becoming lost in the peacefulness of her office a soft sound resembling that of a door being opened forced her eyes to reluctantly do the same.

House appeared from behind the door bringing with him a torrent of sound consistent of voices, telephones, gurneys, and various varieties of frantic footsteps before it was subdued once again by the closing of the doors.

"I'm sorry." House said almost inaudibly among the quietness of the room.

Cuddy didn't move from her arrangement on the couch. "For what?" she asked, equally as hushed as House's voice had been. She could hear the uneven shuffling of House's feet and each tapping sound made as his cane made contact with the floor until the noise finally ceased. He was now leaning directly over her, a neutral expression adorning his face. Cuddy was able to see directly through it. He felt sorry for her. Of all the people to pity her, it had to be House. The irony caused Cuddy to laugh weakly. The only indication she had laughed at all present through the movement of her shoulders and release of air that exited through her nostrils. "For my father…or for leaving me when I needed you?"

This confession caused the room to grow even quieter if it was ever possible and both doctors pondered the latter statement. Cuddy never admitted to needing anyone. Especially House.

"For your father…" Cuddy's heart sank in disappointment. "And for leaving you." House abandoned his cane against the edge of the coffee table next to the couch still accommodating Cuddy and slowly but surely lowered himself onto his good knee, coming face to face with an emotionally guarded Cuddy. "For making sarcastic comments about everything, for defying your authority, for creating unneeded lawsuits, for making you commit perjury for me, for you having to give up one-hundred million dollars because I wouldn't wear a coat," upon each of House's listings Cuddy's face hardened in aggravation. "For disregarding your every attempt to get me to do my clinic duty, for making inappropriate comments about your funbags," at this the faintest of smiles threatened to grace Cuddy's lips. House continued, "…for ever refuting that you would make a wonderful mother or a great doctor…" Cuddy's eyes shifted to meet House's, seeing nothing but sincerity and sorrow in them. "And I'm sorry…for…letting down someone I love so much…especially when they were always there for me." The room was once again consumed by a heavy silence that would make the most quiet loving of all people to feel the need to speak out and break the silence.

But regardless of how much the silence of the room begged to be broken Cuddy remained speechless. She looked around herself inquisitively, peering side to side, behind herself, and even over House's own shoulder, "Where's the _real_ House?" Cuddy asked with a quizzical expression and slight smirk on her face, the preceding moment of grief and abandonment long gone as she and House fell back into place with their usual banter; just the way it should be. House smiled faintly, but genuinely back at the woman now sitting halfway up on the couch, her hands propping her upper body up to meet House's line of sight eye to eye. Blue into blue.

House's mouth opened slightly, and the faintest hint of pink could be seen as he briefly wet his lips, but said nothing for a moment as he seemed to ponder his next choice of words carefully. "I wasn't too sure at first…" House smiled fully now and took Cuddy by surprise as he confidently, yet gently reached forward and placed one hand on Cuddy's cheek, leaned forward and met her lips with his own in one swift fluent movement. Cuddy gasped lightly in surprise, but immediately reached out to him and leant into his kiss instinctively. His hands found his way into her long, dark curls and before she knew it her hands were around his neck, pulling him down onto the couch with her. House obligingly followed her down and ignored the protest his leg put up at such a sudden movement. As they separated for air, House spoke again with the same large smile on his face, "but I know now."

"I'm glad you do." replied Cuddy hastily as she reached out to him once more eagerly.

House's smile intensified at Cuddy's enthusiasm. "And I think I have Wilson to thank for that." before Cuddy could reply about that last comment, she found herself once again lost in the sensations of kissing House. The way he felt, the way he smelled, the way he tasted…

An intrusive knock at the door broke the moment and House reluctantly but quickly pulled himself off from above Cuddy with a groan from himself as well as from the woman below him. House smoothed out his jacket within seconds and watched with the same joyful smile still displayed on his face as Cuddy pulled herself off the couch and straightened herself out as well. "Come in!" encouraged Cuddy towards the direction of her office doors, before pulling her hands away from where they were smoothing down her hair.

A moderately short brunette, presumably an intern, sporting a pair of glasses and a slightly hesitant look on her face appeared to House and Cuddy's vision. She stammered her first words, "Doc, Doctor House, um, I have the results for a Mr. Mike Cuddy." She waited for House's nod before continuing, "You, uh, wanted the results immediately." she said more as a question than a statement. The young lab tech grew more uncomfortable as neither doctor made a move to grab the file and contemplated quite dreadfully the task of reading the results aloud. After about the three seconds in reality as opposed to the young intern's imagined three hours had passed, House signaled with one hand for the file to be handed over to him. The woman thankfully stepped forward and relieved herself of the file and turned hastily, exiting the office exponentially faster than she had entered.

House held the file firmly in his hand and turned to face a worried, yet somehow semi-expressionless Cuddy. "We ran some tests on your father to determine just how severe this has become." House stated the obvious before analyzing the situation further, "for some reason your father has been avoiding any form of medical treatment whatsoever for an exceedingly long period of time. His medical records were not up to date at all."

Cuddy shook her head solemnly, "I figured as much." A moment of silence elapsed before Cuddy answered House's unspoken question, "You read it." she prompted, taking an unconscious step forward closer to House.

House opened the file and skimmed over it, his expression unreadable. After a suspenseful moment he closed it delicately and looked at Cuddy with a hint of grief in his eyes. "I'm sorry." he said almost inaudibly. Cuddy let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and finally lifted her eyes to meet House's once again.

Her lips curved up into a small smile. "Don't be sorry." she said, "You've apologized enough for today."

House matched her current expression and stepped forward enveloping her in a hug. She fell into his arms appreciatively. "I've apologized enough for my whole life." he whispered into her ear. Her smile grew even wider, but she contained any laughter from escaping. She needed to see her father one last time.

**A/N: Wow! The inspiration just struck me and I wrote this all in one sitting! Please Review! This was my first attempt in actually writing a Huddy scene and I had so many different ideas of how it could've gone down, but I just went with whatever my fingers were doing. :D Hopefully it turned out well. Please tell me what you think and I'll love you forever! ;D**


	14. Not Alone

**A/N: Well, it's been great writing for all of you! Thanks to everybody who read and reviewed, you guys are awesome! You gave me the motivation to finish this story! I hope you enjoy the conclusion. Thanks again for reading. I'll see you all in my other stories!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House, M.D. or any of its characters and am making no money whatsoever.**

--------------------

"Are you certain you want to do this again?" House questioned Cuddy as they once again stood outside of Mike's room.

Cuddy smiled up at House forlornly. "I have to." she stated shortly with no further explanation. The look of fortitude and conviction in Cuddy's steel blue eyes was enough for House to not question her any further.

He loved that about her—her determination and strength. Of course he would never admit this aloud to her.

He wasn't entirely sure he could ever manage to work up the nerve to confront his own father if Cuddy's situation were imposed upon him.

House spared a quick glance down the seemingly empty hallway. Once satisfied he advanced a step closer to Cuddy. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his own body, not just wanting to be closer to her, but feeling that in some way she needed it as well. The thought that Cuddy needed him made House light up inside as if someone lit a match within him.

Cuddy was thankful for the warmth and comfort House's body granted her and she drew herself even closer to him, resting her head on his chest and just taking in his comforting presence.

House simply held her there, letting her use him, happy to actually be there for her when she needed him.

After a short moment Cuddy lifted her head and met House's bright blue eyes with her own. House couldn't help but smile affectionately down at the beautiful woman in his arms. Cuddy shook her head in silent laughter.

"What?" inquired House, confused at the sudden altercation in mood her laughter had induced.

"This is just…" Cuddy searched for a watered down word to explain this new affectionate side of House without breaking the moment. "different, that's all." she decided upon. House tilted his head in conjunction with raising one eyebrow. "But in a good way." she added. "I like it." she concluded with a bright smile in his direction.

"Well don't get used to it." House joked, "I'm still not going to do my clinic hours." he said in a playful tone. Cuddy smiled brightly at House, still safely encompassed in his arms when he leaned down and planted a tender kiss upon her lips. They lingered there a while before pulling away and Cuddy stepped back and out of House's arms reluctantly.

"You'll be waiting for me?" she asked hopefully as she took a step closer to Mike's room, consequently putting more superfluous space between herself and House.

"Always." replied House as he watched Cuddy turn and disappear into the room.

--------------------

House continued to stare at the door leading to the room containing Cuddy and her father and sighed. A sudden noise resembling a familiar pair of footsteps directed his attention behind him and he sighed again, heavier and more exaggeratedly than before. He came face to face with a smiling Wilson. The smugness of Wilson's smile made House want to throw up all over Wilson's overly pretentious tie.

"What are you so happy about?" asked House in an irritated tone, "You finally get that nurse you were eyeing up to see past your three failed marriages and sleep with you?"

Wilson's smile didn't falter, only increasing the allegorical bile deep within House's throat. "Aren't you going to thank me?" inquired Wilson knowingly, the smile never leaving his face.

"For leaving me with Mike's workup? Sure, you really missed out. I can't even begin to describe the fun I had bonding with a dying member of Cuddy's gene pool." House answered sarcastically.

Wilson rolled his eyes good naturedly. He wasn't going anywhere until he received his thank you. "Don't pretend like I don't know." started Wilson, still smiling, "I saw you and Cuddy just then." House's expression dropped. "So here's the deal." House raised his eyebrow. "I'm going to congratulate you on finally admitting your feelings to the woman you love, and you're going to thank me for kicking your ungrateful ass in the right direction."

House crossed his arms in defiance. Wilson continued, "And if you don't," House waited for the threat. "I have pictures of you being nice." House's arms dropped the same time as Wilson's smile rose even more. Wilson laughed, "But seriously House, congratulations." he patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm happy for you. Neither of you deserved to be alone."

House appeared hesitant at first, but eventually nodded as a small smirk lifted his lips against his will. An almost inaudible "thank you" resonated from House's lips and Wilson's face might as well have fallen off because of the enormity of his smile. Without another word Wilson turned and left his friend, returning to his office to continue what appeared to be a very good day for him.

-----------------------------------confusedsarcasm-----------------------------------

Cuddy shut the door closed behind her noiselessly and went to occupy the same seat she had been sitting in only a short thirty minutes ago.

By Cuddy's recollection, Mike was still positioned in the same manner on the hospital bed as he was thirty minutes ago, only this time looking not only like hell, but like hell had rejected him because they didn't want to look at him any longer.

He appeared to be sleeping.

Not in a peaceful slumber reflecting that of an innocent baby, or even the recuperative sleep of a worked to death doctor such as herself would partake in after a stressful day, but one filled with a certain pained, yet peaceful restlessness that she couldn't quite recognize or understand.

She immediately rejected the idea of coming back at a later or more appropriate time, wanting to get this over with once and for all. She began to speak to him anyway, hoping her words might somehow immerse themselves into his subconscious. She took a nervous breath and let it out all unintentionally in time with the steady beat being conducted by the machines set up all around her father. She started speaking the first thing that came to her mind.

"I remember when I was eight years old." she began to relive the memories of her past that she had deliberately fought against remembering and pushed relentlessly to the deepest depths of the back of her mind ever since her mother had passed away.

"I was having a nightmare and you woke me up from it." Mike still lay motionless in his bed. "You held me in your arms and calmed me down, rocking me back and forth and smoothing my hair down with your hands." Mike's eyelids fluttered softly in his slumber.

"You told me that you would always be there for me; that as long as you lived you would never let anything bad happen to me." Cuddy paused briefly and watched for any changes in her father. It was apparent that he was still sleeping, but she continued regardless, "You promised me that you would protect me from everything and that bad things don't happen to good people. Do you remember that?" Mike didn't move at all.

"But you couldn't back up that last statement when mom died, could you." Cuddy shook her head sadly. "And if you lied about that then who's to say you didn't lie about everything else?" Cuddy stopped for a moment, simply listening to the steady rhythm of Mike's heart monitor.

"I never told you, but in my nightmare I was alone." Cuddy felt as if the words were building up and stopping in her throat, threatening to strangle her and cut off her much needed supply of oxygen. "Everyone was gone. You…mom…and everyone else in the world. I had no one but myself." That dream wasn't a one time occurrence, much to Cuddy's contempt. It often invaded her dreams and took over her nights every once and a while, as if it were mocking her, reminding her that she really was alone, and it was a premonition when she was a child that this is how her life was meant to be.

Alone.

Cuddy suddenly thought of House. And not just because he was standing outside waiting for her, but because she felt she could count on him more than she could ever have counted on her father. And that hopefully he was the cure to her frequent nightmares.

"You might be happy to know that I'm not alone anymore." Cuddy told her father. "You'll also be glad to know that I don't need you anymore." she smiled sadly. "I never did…" she said as if it were an epiphany realized years ago, perhaps even when she was only a mere eight years old. "I'm not searching for your acceptance, I'm not asking you to be proud of me and what I've made of myself." she continued, feeling much better already, "I'm over it. I'm ready to let go now."

Cuddy stopped speaking and sat for one more minute, simply watching her father, seeing the man he'd become and the man he used to be fading away with his illness.

"Goodbye dad." she said softly, as she turned to leave the room. Her hand firmly gripped the handle of the door when she heard a breathtaking gasp from behind her combined with the frantic beeping of a heart monitor.

She didn't turn around.

She heard more additional desperate gasps for air and the shuffling of the sheets on the bed as they fell to the floor and the beeping intensified.

She began to slide the door open slowly.

The commotion behind her ceased abruptly altogether and she left the room accompanied by a long sustained tone… one she remembered from years ago… that was only silenced by the closing of the door behind her.

-----------------------------------confusedsarcasm-----------------------------------

House was leaning uncomfortably against the solid wall opposite of Mike's room. All this standing in one place for a prolonged period of time was really getting to him. Well, getting to his leg mostly.

House dug into his jacket pocket and his fingers instinctively found their way around the familiar and comforting shape of a pill bottle. Extracting it from the depths of his pocket, House opened it adroitly and emptied only one pill into his awaiting hand anxiously. He downed the bitter white pill and closed his eyes as he felt it slowly make its trek down his throat and waited for the pain to numb him when the door to Mike's room cracked open slowly. The open door released a familiar sound House knew dreadfully well.

House was surprised when Cuddy shut the door, disregarding the noise as if it were the ringing of a telephone with a telemarketer on the other end. Cuddy ambled over to House slowly and he found himself not knowing the proper thing to do as he watched a barrage of nurses rush into the room behind Cuddy. She stopped in front of him.

She smiled. "Thank you." she said. "For staying."

House ignored the commotion behind them as they walked away down the corridor together. House substituted his 'your welcome' with the motion of putting his arm around her waist as they walked away. She did the same.

He stayed. She was sure she would sleep peacefully tonight.

-----------------------------------confusedsarcasm-----------------------------------

The nurses in Mike's room were helpless. By the time they entered the room there was nothing more in their power they could do, even as a doctor making his way down the same hallway entered upon hearing the uproar from the room Mike couldn't be helped. "Time of death," started the doctor, "7:48 pm."

--------------------

Flashback:

_Mike had finally managed to calm Lisa down and she was now sleeping peacefully, clutching her stuffed spotted dog gently to her small frame. Mike smiled affectionately at his daughter and ran his large hands gently through her soft curly hair simultaneously willing away any more nightmares from his daughter like they were a boy trying to take her out to the movies. _

_He pulled her snow white themed sheets around her small body and made sure she was comfortable before he left her alone once again. _

_He couldn't help but wonder what she had dreamt of that had scared her so much. He knew how strong her daughter was and how she was intimidated and frightened by virtually nothing, much like himself. 'A chip off the old block', thought Mike fondly of his pride and joy. _

_Maybe she would tell him some day. _

_He kissed Lisa lovingly on the forehead and spoke softly to her. "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you." he brushed her dark, curly hair away from her closed eyes. "I love you so much and I always will. Remember that, okay sweetie?" With one final kiss he rose from Lisa's bedside and left her alone with her dreams…_

**The End.**


	15. Together Again

**Epilogue**

Cuddy woke up and turned her head to the side. She smiled affectionately at the man beside her, his arm draped possessively and protectively across her stomach. Gently, as to not disturb him, Cuddy removed House's arm from around her and rose from her bed, missing the contact and warmth immediately but proceeding out of the bedroom anyway after getting dressed.

Cuddy threw one last smile over her shoulder at the sleeping man in her bed. She had just awoken from the most tranquil, serene, and nightmare free sleep she had ever experienced.

------------------------------

House awoke and opened his eyes, expecting to see Cuddy lying peacefully next to him as she had been for the past few weeks. When he was met by the sight of only a pillow and rumpled sheets from her side of the bed he became confused. He got up slowly and threw on some sweats before continuing his search and making his way down to the kitchen.

When there was no sign of Cuddy or the usual pleasant aroma of breakfast to welcome him he dismissed it, thinking she only went to work early. He returned to the bedroom and began to prepare himself for work. It was a bit early for him to leave, but he felt that work was more worth going to now that he had Cuddy to look forward to seeing.

------------------------------

House arrived at the hospital and strolled happily to the front entrance of the hospital. He swung open the gleaming glass doors and stepped inside, immediately making his way to Cuddy's office.

------------------------------

Cuddy parked her car on the side of the road next to the cemetery and stepped out, bringing with her a bouquet of beautifully arranged flowers.

White roses. Her mother's favorite.

She made her way towards the familiar grass covered hill which housed Cuddy's mother. Cuddy made it a point to visit her mother's grave at least once every year since she was capable of driving and today was that day.

She made her way up the hill and noted the granite tombstone which had recently been erected directly beside her mother's. She knew who it belonged to but read the cursive scripted writing on the smooth surface of the tombstone anyway.

'Mike Nathanial Cuddy'

'A great son, husband, and father'

'1941-2007'

Cuddy stared at the writing for a moment before pulling a single rose from her mother's bouquet and placing it gently onto the soft green grass at the base of the stone.

Cuddy turned to look at the familiar sight of her mother's tombstone and knelt down beside it, not caring that her knees were becoming wet from the early morning dew glistening happily on the grass. She took her hand and ran it along the inscription of her mother's tombstone gently, effectively rubbing away the small amount of accumulated dirt building up on it. She made a mental note to tell the maintance staff in charge of the cemetery to clean the gravesites more efficiently and frequently before reading the inscription on her mother's light grey granite headstone.

'Laura Michelle Cuddy'

'Beloved Daughter, Wife, Sister, Friend, and Mother'

'In our hearts forever'

'1943-1975'

The tombstone somehow appeared bigger to Cuddy, as if the empty space occupying the bottom of the tomb contained the invisible words, 'only the good die young' or something along those lines. Cuddy couldn't help but do the math quickly in her head. Her father had never remarried after her mother. He had spent thirty two years alone.

Cuddy took the flowers she had brought exclusively for her mother and placed them at the base of her headstone before she began to speak. "Hi mom" she said with a smile, "hi dad," she added as an afterthought.

She didn't quite know the appropriate thing to say. "I'm back" she laughed shortly and continued. "My life's going pretty good I guess." she pulled a picture out of her purse and held it to Laura's tombstone. On second thought she held it high up above her head, knowing that her mother would be looking down on her.

The picture she choose was a special one of herself, Wilson, and House together in Cuddy's living room in front of her fireplace. It was taken on Christmas day, she recalled blissfully. In the picture House was wearing a Santa's hat, but only after much prompting by herself and Wilson. The condition was he would wear it if Wilson wore the ridiculous reindeer antlers. Which he did. The three stood close together, Cuddy in the middle of the two men, House's arm draped around her waist, the other cradling a cup of eggnog. Wilson was on the other side of Cuddy also happily holding a glass of eggnog and draping his red and green Christmas tree sweater covered arm around Cuddy and House's shoulders.

"It's me, House, and Wilson." clarified Cuddy. "You remember them right?" she usually talked to her mother about her personal life, work, and her friends, House and Wilson among them.

Cuddy smiled brightly, "Me and House…Greg" she decided upon instead, "We're well," Cuddy shrugged her shoulders, "you remember when you used to tell me there was always a special someone out there for everyone? And one day I would find mine?" she pointed to House in the picture. "Turns out it was him." she laughed.

Cuddy changed the subject. "I still miss you." she admitted, "I always think about you…" Cuddy fought to keep her composure by forcing a sad smile onto her face. She looked at her father's tombstone. "But at least now you and dad are together again."

"The more I think about it the more I realize that dad's cancer was actually a good thing." Cuddy explained and looked at her father's headstone, "Those thirty two years you lived without mom were only spent hoping that one day you would be with her again, right?" she directed the question towards Mike's tombstone.

She rose from the grass and brushed the grass off her knees, feeling now that everything was right with the world. Her parents were together again. She had House. What more did she need?

Cuddy said her goodbye's to her parents and turned to leave, but noticed a man making his over to the same area. She waited for him to approach. He did and Cuddy was surprised at what she saw. She had a strange feeling that she recognized this man from somewhere, but just couldn't place a name on him. He appeared to be almost seventy years old and had an intelligent, but worn out, tired look about him.

"Hello." Cuddy greeted to the strange old man. He nodded and greeted her as well, but didn't give his name. He stopped in front of Laura's headstone and paid his respects before taking a quick glance at Mike's. He seemed confused at first and then saddened as he must have realized who it was. He simply closed his eyes and seemed to be reminiscing of the past as the wind blew threw his graying hair and whipped against the lapels of his beige colored jacket.

Cuddy debated leaving the man alone, but her persistent curiosity held her there. The man turned and looked at Cuddy, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at her as if he were trying to solve a puzzle. "You look just like…" he began, but stopped. "Who are you?" he asked in a familiarly soft and kind voice.

"Lisa Cuddy." she stated definitely, "and you are?" she trailed off and waited for him to finish her sentence.

Realization dawned on the man's face as if someone had just told him the directions to his own house and he spoke, smiling almost apologetically. "I'm an old friend of Laura's." he said. Somehow Cuddy didn't believe him, not finding the conviction she was looking for in his voice as he spoke those words, but in another way she did.

It was his eyes.

She remembered them from somewhere. Those chocolate brown eyes that she could never forget for the rest of her days. "You're…" she began to speak, realization dawning on her as she was pulled away from her thoughts.

But he was gone.

------------------------------

Cuddy opened the door to her office and took her seat in her office chair. She immediately divulged her full attention upon some unfinished paperwork without noticing the man in the room with her.

House stood silently behind Cuddy, smiling at how into her work Cuddy was that she didn't even notice him. He stepped up closer behind her and began to massage her shoulders. Cuddy almost jumped out of her chair in surprise, but the familiar feel of House's hands relaxed her. She leaned further down into her chair as House's hands worked their magic. His hot breath upon her neck forced her eyes open and she turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Where did you go this morning?" asked House.

"I just went to see my mom at the cemetery." explained Cuddy.

House accepted that answer and continued his work on the knot in Cuddy's shoulder. Cuddy laughed.

"What?" inquired House.

"Oh, nothing." started Cuddy, "I only had a dream just like this once." House smiled smugly.

"Yeah?" he went in to kiss his way up her shoulder blades and onto her neck. "How did it end?" he asked in a husky voice.

Cuddy moaned appreciatively and rolled her neck backward to grant him better access. "With you doing your clinic hours."

House stopped abruptly. "You really know how to ruin the mood don't you?"

Cuddy laughed and took House's unshaven face into her hands, bringing his face down to hers to meet together in a passionate kiss. "But you love me for it." she stated factually when they separated.

House could only smile and reply with another kiss.


End file.
